were alternating carved cherubim and palm trees. Each cherub had two faces:
Parallel translations
- WEB It was made with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces;
- KJV And it was made with cherubims and palm trees, so that a palm tree was between a cherub and a cherub; and every cherub had two faces;
- NKJV And it was made with cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces,
- NASB It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces:
- NLT All the walls were decorated with carvings of cherubim, each with two faces, and there was a carving of a palm tree between each of the cherubim.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The walls were carved with cherubim and palm trees, each cherub having two faces. The decoration recalls Eden and the presence of God's holy guardians.
Overview
The temple walls bore carvings of cherubim and palm trees, imagery that echoes the garden of Eden, where cherubim guarded God's presence (Genesis 3:24). The motifs portray the sanctuary as a restored paradise, a place where God dwells with the pure. This points to the gospel hope of regained access to God's presence, opened through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- 1 Kgs 7:36He engraved cherubim, lions, and palm trees on the surfaces of the supports and panels, wherever each had space, with wreaths all around.
- Ezek 40:16The gate chambers and their side pillars had beveled windows all around the inside of the gateway. The porticos also had windows all around on the inside. Each side pillar was decorated with palm trees.
- Ezek 10:21Each had four faces and four wings, with what looked like human hands under their wings.
- 2 Chr 3:7He overlaid its beams, thresholds, walls, and doors with gold, and he carved cherubim on the walls.
- Ezek 40:22Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate facing east. Seven steps led up to it, with its portico opposite them.
- Rev 7:9After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
- 1 Kgs 6:35He carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold, hammered evenly over the carvings.
- Ezek 1:10The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle.
- Ezek 10:14Each of the cherubim had four faces: the first face was that of a cherub, the second that of a man, the third that of a lion, and the fourth that of an eagle.
- 1 Kgs 6:29–32Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.
- Ezek 41:25Cherubim and palm trees like those on the walls were carved on the doors of the outer sanctuary, and there was a wooden canopy outside, on the front of the portico.
- 2 Chr 3:5He paneled the main room with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm trees and chains.
- Rev 4:7–9The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.
- Ezek 41:20Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall of the outer sanctuary from the floor to the space above the entrance.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 41:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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